New conflict in the reform of the welfare states: the social investment strategy and its alternatives

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25380150
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Politics
• Research Institution: Hitotsubashi University
• Principal Investigator: Tanaka Takuji 一橋大学, 大学院社会学研究科, 教授 (20333586)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 福祉国家 / 比較政治経済学 / 新しい社会的リスク / ワークフェア / 自由選択 / 社会運動 / 政治的機会構造

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present study compares contemporary reforms of the welfare states in the UK, France, Germany, and Sweden, by examining the political cause behind the divergence among them. Some researchers insist that the welfare policies in the developed countries turn into social investment strategies. In contrast, this study reveals that there are two different reform directions. The first is workfare policies, which imply a reduction of the social expenditure and enforce job activities on the unemployed. The other is free choice policies, which assure citizens with opportunities for choosing their own way of life and work. This divergence arises from different forms of democracy: top-down and bottom-up styles. The UK and Germany chose a top-down style, which corresponded to workfare policies. Sweden and France chose a bottom-up style, which corresponded to free choice policies.

Free Research Field

政治学